A gas turbine engine generally includes one or more rotors supported by bearing structures in the engine. During an engine maintenance operation, such as on-wing hot section inspections of an aircraft turbine engine, in some engines an aft engine portion including an aft shaft bearing support structure is removed to provide access to the interior of the engine. Once the bearing support is removed, however, the rotor which the bearing supports tends to droop down, under its own weight, at the unsupported side to thereby create misalignment relative to the remaining support structures within the engine. This misalignment may cause damage to the rotor components at tight fit locations and may also cause difficulties during re-assembly of the engine.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide an improved approach.